We're Both Just Getting Along
by Altissimo range rocks
Summary: There were eight Gryffindors in the Hogwarts class of 1978: Lily, Dorcas, Marlene, Mary, Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter. This is the story of their first year full of mischief.
1. Lily and Marlene

**Lily Evans and Marlene McKinnon**

_September 1, 1971_

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"Remember to write us every week!" Marlene McKinnon's mother called as her daughter broke away from her parents and younger siblings. Marlene turned back and gave her family a shaky smile before slowly stepping onto the train. She clutched her owl cage to her chest and looked around nervously as she climbed the few steps. The second she was all the way onto the train, a loud chatter surrounded her.

"Need some help?" a shaggy haired boy around sixteen asked her once he had noticed how bewildered she was. Marlene looked up at him and smiled feebly. Quickly, she looked back down at her brown owl and snuck a finger between the wires, where Bertha gently nipped her.

"Yes. I don't know where to put my owl or my luggage," Marlene mumbled and lifted her trunk off the ground and awkwardly held it in front of her. A blush crept up on her cheeks. She really did not enjoy talking to strangers. "I also don't know where to sit," she added hastily as she focused on her toes. The only people Marlene considered her friends were her little brother, Julius, and sister, Helena.

"Well, first of all, just take your luggage down there," the boy pointed to the luggage store in the back of the train. "But you should keep money for the trolley and your robes to change into, and anything else you might want on the train ride," he suggested. "I would say that you could sit with me, but I have to go to a prefect's meeting, so that wouldn't be the best idea. So just sit in any compartment with empty space and you're good to go," he winked at her. Marlene felt her cheeks flush and turned away with her face down to put away her luggage.

Every compartment that Marlene passed was full. She started to panic, as the train was scheduled to leave momentarily. Suddenly, she spotted a compartment with only two people in it. She took a step towards the door, when she face planted onto the ground. The blonde girl quickly pushed herself up off of the ground and found herself face to face with a redheaded girl about her age.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked Marlene. She stared back at the girl wide eyed and nodded her head.

"Could I maybe sit with you guys? Nowhere else has spots," Marlene stammered while avoiding eye contact.

"Of course!" the girl said with a bright smile and the black haired boy behind her groaned. "Sev, be nice!" she scolded over her shoulder. Marlene giggled slightly and held out a hand.

"I'm Marlene McKinnon, first year. Thanks," she said as she shook the redhead's hand. She stepped into the compartment and sat down. The other girl sat down next to Marlene and the boy called Sev sat across from them both.

"My name is Lily Evans. This is Sev. We're both first years," Lily said to Marlene as she pointed across the aisle to Sev.

"_Severus_ Snape. Only Lily can call me Sev," _Severus_ said with an eye roll. Lily giggled into her hand and playfully stuck her tongue out at him. Then, Lily tossed her book over to Snape and he caught it in midair. Suddenly, she turned to Marlene.

"So, Marlene, what house do you want to be in?" she asked with a contemplative look on her face.

"Uh… I haven't really thought about it much before. Both of my parents were in Gryffindor, and I would like to be in there, but I'm not brave enough. I'm not smart enough to be in Ravenclaw either. And, come to think of it, I am not cunning enough to be in Slytherin, even if I wanted to be in that house," Marlene said the last line with a shudder, much to the dismay of Severus. Marlene continued, "So, I'll probably be in Hufflepuff. Whoop-de-doo."

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with Hufflepuff!" Lily exclaimed. Severus let out a snort and Marlene raised her eyebrows at Lily. "_Anyway_, I want to be in Slytherin with Sev or in Gryffindor. I can't decide. I guess Ravenclaw would be good, too. Ah, forget it! I think it's wonderful to just be at Hogwarts! It's wonderful to just be magical!" Lily said with an exuberant smile. Marlene could tell that she was really excited for Hogwarts.

"So, are you a muggleborn then?" Marlene asked casually.

"Yes! I am!" Lily beamed and nodded her head, making her red curls bounce. "Are you one as well?" Lily asked her, and Marlene shook her head no.

"Half-blood. I think. My mum's mum was a muggleborn and she married a pureblood, so my mum is half-blood. My dad's dad was a muggleborn as well, and he married a pureblood, making my dad half. So, I guess that makes me half," Marlene said with concentration. For some reason people always got confused whenever Marlene tried to explain her heritage to people, but thankfully, Lily was nodding her head vigourously.

"Oh! That is so interesting! Sev's mother is a witch, and father is a muggle, so he is a half-blood as well!" Lily spoke quickly.

"Anything from the trolley?" the trolley lady suddenly called. Marlene hopped up from her seat and pulled out some money. She decided upon three chocolate frogs, one for each of her new friends. _Friends,_ she thought to herself and smiled.

"I got Dumbledore!" Marlene called as she ripped open the package and got a firm grip on the chocolate frog.

"Me too!" Severus shouted with glee as he bit into his.

"Me three!" Lily yelled as she thrust her chocolate frog into the air and it went flying. It gave a loud croak and hopped up the window. Lily flung herself to the window and caught it. She then took a bite out of it and smiled wide, exposing her chocolate covered teeth. Severus and Marlene broke into laughter at the sight of Lily, and she glared at the two of them for laughing at her. Lily gave in to laughter when Marlene rolled off of the seat and fell onto the ground.

"Don't make falling a habit!" Lily said in between laughs while wagging her finger at Marlene.

"I'm afraid I already have!" Marlene said as she pulled Lily down with her.

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**Thanks for reading :) review?**


	2. James and Sirius

**James Potter and Sirius Black**

_September 1, 1971_

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Sirius Black watched intently as the boy who had just been sorted into Gryffindor walked towards the Gryffindor table. The first two Gryffindor boys after Sirius had not sat near him, and he was starting to feel anxious. Not only would things be tense between him and his cousins, but now, of course, he would be friendless in Gryffindor. _I should have begged and pleaded for Slytherin, _Sirius thought. He stole a glance over to the Slytherin table, where his older cousin, Narcissa, was sitting with all of their childhood friends. The sixth year caught his eye and raised a single blonde eyebrow at him. Sirius shrugged his shoulders and his cousin responded by pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes at him. The first year boy plopped his head of black curls into his hands on the table and sighed.

"Hey, can I sit here?" a voice said to Sirius from behind and his head instantly snapped up. The newly sorted Gryffindor boy stood in front of him, nervously twitching his thumbs. Sirius scooted over and made room for the boy.

"James Potter, right?" Sirius confirmed. The boy ran his hands through his stick straight black hair and nodded awkwardly. James's eyes flickered up to the sorting ceremony and then back to Sirius. He smiled mischievously at Sirius and chuckled.

"So, Black, why aren't you in Slytherin like the rest of your clan?" he asked with a shoulder nudge. James saw the muscles in his jaw tighten and he gripped the table with an iron force.

"I'm allowed to be different, _Potter_," Sirius snarled at him. Taken aback, James threw his hands up in defeat and slightly scooted away.

At that moment, Dumbledore decided to start the beginning of the year speech. "Welcome to Hogwarts!" he exclaimed before going into detail about the workings of Hogwarts. James slumped down in his seat and felt himself dozing off. After all, he had been way too excited to sleep the night before. He snapped back to reality when Sirius poked him in the side, hard.

"Hey, Potter, how long do you think Dumbledore's beard is?" Sirius mused in a whispered voice. James clamped a hand over his mouth to prevent himself from letting out a very loud laugh at a very inappropriate time.

"A meter and a half," James responded after some careful calculations.

"No way. Two meters, at least," Sirius responded, eyeing James carefully.

"Well, you're the one who asked me in the first place…" James mumbled with an eye roll.

"Wanna bet?" Sirius smirked at him.

"On what?" James countered.

"Loser has to ask out a girl," Sirius motioned towards the gaggle of girls on the other end of the table.

"What kind of bet is that? Chicken!" James taunted, making _bawk_ sounds and flapping his arms like a chicken.

"The winner chooses the girl," he said as he grabbed James's arms to stop his arm flailing. James's jaw dropped for a moment, and then quickly got a hold of himself. He smiled and held out his arm.

"Deal," he said as Sirius grabbed his hand and they shook.

"Deal," Sirius agreed.

"Sirius Orion Black!" a female voice hissed behind them just as they shook. Sirius slowly turned around to face the blonde haired, blue eyed beauty. "What the _hell_ happened?" she nearly shrieked at him. James felt it eerie because it was very quiet, but very angry.

"I don't know," Sirius supplied simply with a shrug. She grabbed his upper arm and shook him gently, but forcefully.

"How can you be so blasé about this? Just wait until your parents hear. Or, better yet, Bella. Oh, she will eat you alive. Especially after what happened with Meda−_Andro_meda this summer. In fact, I think I will owl the entire family as soon as I get back to my dorm. We all need to watch after you, to make sure history doesn't repeat itself. The last thing the Black family needs is another freaking blood traitor! Do not do anything I wouldn't do, please," Narcissa begged. Sirius glared at her and pressed his hands into fists.

"I can handle myself, Narcissa," he said quietly. She scoffed and stormed off. James turned to Sirius wide-eyed.

"Are you _sure_ you're allowed to be different?" James hesitantly asked.

"Honestly, I have a hunch that I'm not," Sirius replied quietly as he stabbed a piece of ham with his fork. The two boys ate in silence for a while, until they had sufficiently stuffed themselves.

"Sirius! Dumbledore is coming this way! Let's ask him!" James called while pointing to the tall headmaster. The two boys got up out of their seats and ran up to the white haired man.

"Excuse me, sir, how long is your beard?" Sirius boldly asked, mesmerized by the beard.

"That is not a question one usually hears on a daily basis," Dumbledore chuckled with a twinkle in his eyes. He peered out of his half-moon spectacles down at the two boys in front of him. "But I believe it was two meters last time I measured," he said before walking away.

"I TOLD YOU!" Sirius yelled at his new friend. James sulked for a moment.

"Who are you going to make me ask out?" he asked in a sodden voice.

"My cousin!" Sirius exclaimed as James made a face. The former let out a loud laugh and the latter sighed in relief. "I haven't decided yet," Sirius said as he scanned the table. He spotted a little redheaded girl talking to a girl with blonde curls. The blonde girl was pretty, and maybe if James asked out the redhead, Sirius would get to know the blonde. His thoughts trailed off into fantasy as he finished his ham and joked with James Potter. _Yeah, Cissy definitely wouldn't do this,_ he thought with a small smile.

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**Author's Note: I got inspired to write about the dynamic between Sirius and his cousins when I was reading a story about Andromeda. I definitely recommend it! It's _A Keen Observer_ by DeepDownSlytherin. Review me?**


	3. Marlene and Peter

**Marlene McKinnon and Peter Pettigrew**

_September 2, 1971_

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Peter Pettigrew got up out of his cozy seat in the common room to retrieve some more ink from his dorm. He debated if he should leave his worksheet and potions book on the table in front of him or not. After a few minutes, he carefully lowered them both onto the seat and retreated.

When he returned, he noticed that a girl about his age was sitting in his seat. He sighed in frustration as he approached her. "Sorry, but I was kind of sitting there…" he said to her while motioning towards his things. The girl looked up from her book and her short blonde ringlets swayed back and forth. She looked at him in confusion for a moment, and then her mouth opened in realization.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't realize… I'll move to the couch over there," the girl said quietly as she put her bookmark in between the pages she was reading and closed it.

"Oh, it's fine. I'll work over there," Peter grumbled in response. He had a weakness for pretty girls. The girl fixed her frosty blue eyes on him, white eyebrows raised.

"Alright. Are you a first year?" she asked him. He nodded and wrung his hands together nervously. "Me too. I'm Marlene McKinnon," she stated simply as she slowly opened her book again.

"I'm Peter Pettigrew. It's nice to meet you, Marlene," Peter smiled, and Marlene smiled back. After picking up his homework off of the table, he moved to the couch in front of the blazing fire. He continued completing his "Potions book scavenger hunt" busywork that Professor Slughorn assigned the first years earlier that day. The sound of Marlene flipping the pages of her book every minute or so started to grate on Peter's nerves after a while, but he chose not to comment, as he had already been gruff with her this evening.

"Hey, firstie! That's my chair you're sitting in!" Peter heard across the common room just as he was finishing his worksheet. Wondering what was going on, Peter looked up and saw a boy of about fifteen standing in front of Marlene with a sneer. Marlene looked at the boy with strawberry blonde hair with wide eyes. The boy grabbed the book out of her hands and laughed at it. "Who actually reads the assigned books? Wow, firstie. Just leave," the boy said as he threw the book across the room, narrowly missing Peter. At this point, Peter was getting pretty ticked off at the boy for making a disruption while he was trying to study. With a sigh, Peter threw his homework aside and stood up. He nervously patted his light brown hair down on his head and marched towards the two people.

"Seriously? Pick on somebody your own size," Peter said bravely while puffing out his chest. Marlene giggled softly as the boy blanched and took a step back.

"Whatever, have the stupid seat," the boy mumbled as he stalked off to the boys' staircase.

"Oh, thank you!" Marlene gasped as she threw herself into Peter's arms. He awkwardly put his arms on her back and patted.

"Err, no problem," he said before he unlocked himself from Marlene's arms. He watched as she skipped across the room to pick up her book. "Uh, what are you reading?" he asked to break the silence.

"_Hogwarts, A History_!" she exclaimed proudly. She haphazardly opened the book and shoved her bookmark in.

"And you're reading it…why?" he asked her. It was a book used for History of Magic, but they weren't assigned to read the whole book, just a few pages here and there to supplement parts of the curriculum.

"Because!" Marlene exclaimed while stamping her foot impatiently and rolling her eyes. "History is important _and_ fascinating! And the history of Hogwarts is just…wow. I mean, do you even really know anything about the founders, other than the well-known information? It's all in here, for the most part. The whole dynamic is simply wonderful!" Marlene proclaimed excitedly as she plopped herself onto the couch and motioned for Peter to take a seat next to her. Peter watched her intently with his sapphire blue eyes as she chattered on about dungeons, dragons, ghosts, and crime.

At the end of the night, Peter and Marlene were both happy to have made a new friend.

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**Author's Note: This one is a bit short, but I wasn't really sure what else to write about Peter and Marlene! I really struggle with having to write Peter, because I know he's an awful person for betraying James and Lily, but he redeemed himself in the end by helping Harry. Also, he can't have been a bad person when he was younger, because the Marauders all trusted him. So it's difficult. Review?**


	4. Dorcas and Peter

**Dorcas Meadowes and Peter Pettigrew**

_September 4, 1971_

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"Library's closing in five minutes. Everybody out!" Dorcas heard Madam Pince call from across the library. Looking up from her book, she noticed that she was one of five people in the library. Dorcas picked up her bookmark and placed it in between the pages. Earlier in the day, she came across a novel while perusing the library's selection. Since Dorcas Meadowes had never read a magical novel, she pounced on the opportunity. The book was about a witch who had her heart broken by a wizard and how she coped with the heartbreak by hunting threstrals. It was quite a sad book, Dorcas thought. She pulled her long, brown hair back into a ponytail before rising from her chair.

"Dorcas! Wait up!" Dorcas turned around to see a Hufflepuff first year girl chasing after her. She stopped and waited for the girl to approach her. "Hi. How are you?" the girl asked her as they walked side-by-side out of the library.

"Hey, Laura. I'm doing pretty good. You?" Dorcas asked Laura. Laura Maple was a very skinny girl of medium height who was in Transfiguration and Potions with Dorcas. Although she was a very nice girl, she was a bit too energetic for Dorcas's taste. Dorcas noted that her waist length hair was thin and straight, but then it curled every which way and that at the end. The dark blonde hair seemed to match with Laura's striking hazel eyes that peeped out of long eyelashes. She nervously rubbed her lightly freckled nose and giggled.

"I'm good… I was just wondering if you're friends with Sirius Black," she mumbled in response. Dorcas laughed.

"Sirius Black? Why on Earth would you ask something like that?" Dorcas continued laughing.

"Erm.. Well… I think he's really cute. And I saw you talking to him today during Potions, so I figured…" Laura trailed off this point, beet red in the face. Dorcas stopped laughing and turned her coffee-brown eyes to the girl. "I figured you were friends with him," she added.

"Truth be told, I've only spoken to him a few times. I wouldn't really consider us _friends._ But I'll be sure to mention you in a passing comment!" Dorcas nodded encouragingly, willing her to go away. Not that Dorcas didn't like Laura, she just wanted to be alone.

"Oh! You would do that for me? Thank you very much!" she exclaimed as she threw her arms around Dorcas. The brown haired girl wasn't particularly fond of physical affection, but she awkwardly hugged Laura back.

"Well, I'll see you later!" she called as she pulled away from the hug and quickly darted around the corner. Dorcas continued walking towards Gryffindor Tower until she tripped over something. Shrieking, she scrambled up to her feet and took a few steps back.

"Sorry…" she heard a boy say. She looked down at Peter, confusion spreading across her face.

"Peter, why are you laying on the ground?" she asked him as she rubbed a hand across an eye.

"I couldn't remember the password, so I was waiting until someone came around and could let me in. But, of course I fell asleep," he muttered as he stood up and stretched.

"Well, the password is _malum_," Dorcas said wearily. The Fat Lady giggled and swung the portrait open. Dorcas climbed in through the portrait hole with Peter following right behind her.

"Thank you so much, Dorcas," he said gratefully as he plopped himself down into a chair.

"No problem," she replied as she, too, plopped herself into a chair to continue reading her book. Suddenly remembering the conversation she had with Laura, she decided to take a leaf out of her book. "Hey, Peter?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?" he looked up from his essay and focused on Dorcas.

"Are you friends with Remus Lupin?" she asked. He looked skeptical for a moment and then answered her.

"Yes, why?" Dorcas sighed with relief at his answer.

"No reason, just curious," she said, two octaves higher than usual.

"Dorcas Meadowes. There is always some curiosity behind every "just curious," so tell me why you're asking," Peter huffed, as if Dorcas was wasting his precious time.

"I just think he's cute, that's all," she said simply, raising the book to her face to cover her blush. Glancing sideways at Peter, he looked disgusted.

"Girls are gross," he commented as he suddenly stood. "I'm telling!" he squealed and ran up the boys' staircase. Dorcas sighed. It was worth an effort, at least.

"Boys," she spat like a curse word as she followed Peter's lead by going up to her dorm.

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**I really would appreciate reviews! So far I haven't gotten any for this story... And.. well... I really want to know that people are reading this! If not, I'll probably just give up on this and focus on my other stories... So yeah. Please. :)**


	5. Lily and Remus

**Lily Evans and Remus Lupin**

_October 3, 1971_

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"Lily, I think you're doing it wrong," Remus said gently to the girl next to him, who was struggling to turn her match into a needle. She looked over at him with an incredulous expression on her face. By the way she was looking at him, one would have thought that Remus suddenly grew an extra nose on his face. She set down her wand on the table and folded her hands on her lap and swiveled towards him. In absolute silence, Lily continued to stare at him with _that_ expression. "What?" Remus exclaimed when he could no longer take Lily's funky glare.

"I just find it amusing that you felt the need to point out the fact that I was doing it wrong. _Obviously_ I was doing something wrong, Remus Lupin, because the match was clearly _not_ turning into a needle. Instead of pointing out that there was a flaw in my work, would it not have been more polite and effective to correct my ways?" Lily asked as her expression switched to an amused one. When she bent her elbows and held her outstretched hands up to her shoulders while simultaneously shrugging, Remus's left eyebrow raised ever so slightly.

"Well, I was not aware that you knew there was a problem because you continued to repeat the same thing, over and over again," he commented simply as he swished and flicked his wand and switched the needle before him to its original state: a match. After taking a deep breath, the sandy haired boy transfigured it into a needle. Lily copied him, but came out with a toothpick. She let out a groan and dropped her head onto the table, where she proceeded to bang her forehead on the desk.

"What am I doing wrong?" she whined.

"Miss Evans, I think the class would greatly appreciate it if you would stop killing your brain cells in this manner," the sharp and stern voice of Professor McGonagall scolded Lily. Her head instantly snapped up and turned bright red. She tuned out the laughs and cheers from the boys in front of her and nodded her head at McGonagall.

"I don't think you're focused enough," Remus said quietly. She gave him a bewildered look and raised her eyebrows.

"What are you suggesting, Remus?" Lily asked him, scandalized.

"I've been watching the way you attempt to transfigure it. You glance in James Potter's direction, then quickly look back down with a smile," he said with a smirk.

"Again, I ask. What on _Earth_ are you suggesting, Lupin?" Lily whispered in a tense tone of voice. Remus noted that she was gripping the table so hard that her knuckles were turning white. Smirking, he lazily changed his needle back into a match, avoiding the glare of Lily Potter. "REMUS LUPIN!" she said as she poked him in the back. He turned around slowly to meet her eyes. Once a cheerful emerald green, they were now slits with Slytherin green popping out.

"I just think you might fancy James, that's all," Remus said before getting up and walking towards Professor McGonagall.

"I don't fancy James Potter," she said calmly. When Remus heard her calm tone of voice, he turned back around to face the girl with his eyebrows raised. Suddenly, the red head was cool and collected. She had a light smirk on her face, and determinedly changed her match into a needle.

"Good job. You got it," he congratulated her.

"You were right, I needed to focus more," she confessed as she twirled a strand of red hair around her finger.

"So you do fancy James Potter," he stated. James swiveled around in his seat and stared at Lily with a huge smile on his face. She scoffed and dropped her hair.

"Of course not. I fancy you, Remus," she said simply with a twinkle in her eyes. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go show Professor McGonagall that I actually can do the assignment," she said haughtily, getting up from her table.

"What the…" Remus said in utter disbelief. Never before had he considered the possibility of a girl liking him. Now that he knew of Lily's feelings…Well, nothing changed. He honestly wasn't interested in her. Besides, it wasn't safe to ever invest anything in people. He would just hurt them in the end.

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**I'm not super happy with this chapter. Oh well.**


	6. Mary and Sirius

**Mary MacDonald and Sirius Black**

_October 18, 1971_

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Mary MacDonald looked up from her textbook and stared at the boy across from her in disgust. Taking her spoon out of her mouth, she decided that she had suddenly lost interest in her oatmeal.

"So then, I told McGonagall that I didn't do the essay because I already knew the material," Sirius Black animatedly told his friends a story while motioning with his fork. Mary tuned Sirius out as her stomach started to churn. She was fascinated and thoroughly disgusted with the way he ate. The bowl of oatmeal in front of her was pushed aside and Mary gathered her chocolate brown hair into a ponytail. All right, so she shouldn't have been playing with her hair at the table. But in her defense, Sirius Black should not have been eating like a baboon at the table, either. She snapped her head up at him and waited for a break in his story. To Mary, it seemed as if he droned on and on about his _exciting_ tale of getting detention with Professor McGonagall, pieces of egg flying from his mouth every so often. The boys around him laughed every few words or so, and soon enough, Mary was more disgusted with the fact that they actually liked to hear Sirius ramble than with the way Sirius was eating. But, alas, Mary decided that it would be rude to comment on their choice in friends, so she settled for commenting on Black's manners.

"It's rude to talk with your mouth open," she said abruptly. Sirius looked at her in confusion, before bursting out laughing. With the realization of what she said, Mary blushed in mortification. Why did she always have to be so tongue tied?

"Well, that's a new one, MacDonald. So, what am I supposed to do? Talk with my mouth closed? I should try that sometime!" Sirius said between laughs. Mary rolled her eyes at him before picking up her spoon and flicking oatmeal at him.

"That's not what I meant, Black. I meant that it's rude to chew with your mouth open AND it's also rude to talk with food in your mouth. I mean, really. You should know better. Didn't your parents ever teach you some manners?" Mary berated while stabbing the air with her spoon in his direction. Sirius angrily wiped the oatmeal off of his robes with a red napkin.

"Spot on, MacDonald," he said simply. Mary stopped ranting at him and blinked a few times with a blank expression on her face.

"Wh-wha-WHAT!" she sputtered. He grinned cheekily back at her for a few moments before taking another bite of his fried egg. The brown haired girl winced as he deliberately chewed it slowly, opening his mouth very wide. After what seemed like hours of revolting chewing to Mary, he finally swallowed. _Too bad he can't swallow his pride, either,_ Mary thought to herself.

"This is another way of rebelling against my family," he said with a smirk.

"So, you're rebelling against your family and repelling girls at the same time. Cool," she said with a wink. Confusion crossed his face for a moment, and Mary laughed. Her laugh was a high pitched tinkly laugh that sounded evil in this moment.

"Girls won't like me because of the way I eat my food? It's that gross?" Sirius clarified. Mary took this as an opportunity to flick some more oatmeal at the dense boy before rising from the bench.

"More than you will ever know," she mumbled under her breath as she walked away from the Gryffindor table.

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**I had a really fun time writing this one! It reminded me so much of when I was younger and boys would just eat like animals. Some people still do, and it grosses me out so much... Please review?**

**Love,**

**Alana**


	7. Lily and James

**Lily Evans and James Potter**

_October 24, 1971_

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It had been almost two months since Sirius dared James to ask out Lily Evans. He still hadn't. At first, he put it off because he didn't know her and was afraid to freak her out. Then, as he gradually got to know her better, he put it off because he realized that he was fascinated by the girl. Everything about the girl completely captivated James: her striking emerald green eyes that bore into his, her red hair that appeared to be a ring of fire around Lily's head, the way Lily glided when she walked, Lily's soft voice with so much determination, and even her crazy nervous habits. The more he was drawn to the girl, the more he realized that talking to her is so nerve-wracking that he felt sick to his stomach around her.

At the moment, James was in Transfiguration−his favorite and best subject−trying to focus on Professor McGonagall. But, of course, he could clearly see a flash of red hair in his peripheral vision, and kept getting distracted. Today, she had chosen a seat in front of James and slightly to the right. She was taking notes furiously, with her eyebrows furrowed in and her mouth parted ever so much. Every so often, Lily would stop and look up at McGonagall, stretch her arms out in front of her, and look over to her friend Marlene on her left. After the girls would exchange a small smile, they would both look back down to their papers and continue taking notes. James noticed that Marlene did not have the knack for taking notes that Lily did: Marlene was slower and frequently craned her neck to glance at Lily's notes. Each time this would occur, Lily would roll her eyes and scoot her notes to Marlene's side of the table without missing a beat in note taking.

"You still haven't asked her out," Sirius said from his left side. James simply turned and glared at him. Sirius knew full well that James did not have the guts to ask out such an intimidating girl.

"Fine, I'll do it," James said, surprising himself. "Give me a piece of paper," he demanded of his friend. Sirius snorted and handed him a slip of paper. On it, James wrote a simple phrase:

_Evans, will you go out with me? –James_

He handed the paper to Marlene, who smirked and handed it to Lily. Lily huffed in annoyance, as she had been disturbed while taking notes. She pressed a hand to her mouth and let out a tiny giggle as she read the note. She flipped it over and wrote a response. James eagerly took the note back from her and read it. His face fell when he realized what she wrote:

_Potter-_

_Absolutely not. I barely know you, and we're only eleven. –Evans_

"Better luck next time," Sirius said with a smug expression on his face.

"Sod off," James said, turning away from his best mate and once again attempted to focus on the lesson in front of him.

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**Okay, I realize that there wasn't very much Lily-James action in this one, even though it's a Lily-James oneshot. I just couldn't figure out a better way to do it. I love you if you're reading this. Please review! :)**

**-Alana**


	8. Marlene and James

**Marlene McKinnon and James Potter**

_November 7, 1981_

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"Oi! McKinnon!" a familiar voice called. Marlene had no need to peek out of her curtain of blonde curls hiding her face. She knew who it was. Her eyes fell back to the essay she was writing and blocked out James Potter's incessant talking. "McKinnonnnn!" he taunted in her ear. She refused to respond. She always ignored people when they called her McKinnon. It wasn't right. She _had_ a name. A nice one at that, she thought. Marlene. Marls. Marley. Leenie. Lena.

"Can I ask you a question, McKinnon?" James's boyish voice said beside her. She ignored him as best as she could. Even if he did address her properly, she would have no reason to respond to him. To her, James Potter was nothing more than a classmate who happened to stalk her best friend, Lily Evans.

Although Marlene hadn't responded, James plowed through his question of, "What am I doing wrong with Lily, Marlene?" Finally. He called her by her proper name.

"Thanks," she responded quietly. She turned to face him and trained her eyes on him. He almost seemed startled that she responded.

"Forrrr what?" he asked, clearly confused. He pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Addressing me by my first name, of course," she rolled her eyes silently. It was doubtful that James noticed the eye roll, though. He was too busy being shocked that Marlene McKinnon was actually talking to him.

"So you're talking to me now," he said in wonder.

"And?" she scoffed. His face took on a look of pain for a moment before he recomposed himself.

"It's just that.. well.. you're kind of… sometimes… you can be a little…" he stuttered.

"What, James?" she prompted, looking forward to getting back to her homework.

"You're shy," he said bluntly. She rolled her eyes, and this time James did notice. She brushed her hair behind her ears as best as she could, but most of it fell back to her face.

"I'm shy with people I first meet. I have met you before. More times than I wish. So therefore I'm not shy with you," Marlene retorted, eyes scanning her essay once again due to her fading interest in the conversation (not that she had much interest to begin with).

"Then why don't you talk to me?" he asked, scooting closer to her. She could smell his breath. It smelled minty, as if he had just brushed his teeth.

"First of all, just because I don't talk to an annoying classmate of mine who stalks my best friend, doesn't mean I'm shy. Second of all, do I have to talk to you? Third of all, you always call me McKinnon. My name is _Marlene._ Lastly, I don't like to waste my breath," Marlene ranted. It was the most she had ever said to James Potter, and he seemed overwhelmed.

She stood up to retreat to her dorm. After all, Lily was probably asleep by now, as well as Dorcas and Mary. A hand circled around her wrist and pulled her to a halt.

"You never answered my question about Lily," James said, eyes suddenly glassy.

"Oh yes," she smiled mysteriously. "Why don't you grow up, stop stalking her, get to know her, and _don't_ ask her out when we're eleven years old," she replied and turned on her heel. All of this talking with James was giving her a headache, she thought as she rubbed her temple.

"Never," she heard James call behind her. Marlene sighed. It was his loss, really. He would either change or lose Lily, that was for sure.

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**I'd love a review! Or a favorite. Or an alert. Or anything, really. I love you all!**


	9. Dorcas and Remus

**Dorcas Meadowes and Remus Lupin**

_November 13, 1971_

Remus felt uncomfortable. Why had Slughorn paired him with Dorcas, of all people? It wasn't that he didn't like Dorcas, it was what Peter had said to him about her. She thought he was cute. What was Remus supposed to do? Was he supposed to ask her out? Remus was definitely unsure of what to do. He wasn't even sure what the cute comment was supposed to mean. Did Dorcas actually like him? More importantly, does Remus reciprocate her sentiments? He blushed uncomfortably at the thought. Sure, she was pretty. Her brown hair fell perfectly into place around her face, and her eyes were a nice color. But it wasn't as if Remus had ever had an extensive conversation with her. He supposed she was nice, albeit a bit talkative.

"Remus?" she asked him casually from the other side of the desk. He turned to look at her, convinced he was still blushing. She gave him an odd look at leaned forward slightly. "Are you all right? You're looking a bit green. I'd be fine on my own for today if you need to go to the hospital wing," she said with a light pat on his hand.

"I'll be fine," he said curtly and pulled his hand away and tried to subtley scoot his stool away from hers.

"Well, I guess I'll go get the ingredients," Dorcas said while trying not to be too offended by his not so subtle scooting away.

"Remus?" she asked when it became very apparent that he was avoiding making eye contact with her, as well as ignoring her.

"Dorc," he said in response. He meant to say her actual name, but he ended up stuttering and leaving off the last syllable. Horror struck his face when he realized what he said.

"Are you serious? Did you really just say that? Oh, my Godric," she reacted, appalled. She expected this sort of behavior out of Sirius, James, even Peter, but not Remus. Remus was the nice marauder.

"No, I didn't mean to say that!" he argued with a deep blush on his face. Dorcas rolled her eyes at him while furiously stirring the potion around the cauldron.

"I've been nothing but nice to you, and you have just been extremely rude to me today. What is your problem? You can't even make eye contact with me or talk to me without feeling sick? Am I that horribly unattractive? Your reputation of being nice is so totally wrong, Lupin," she yelled while wiping a tear from her eye.

"It's just… Peter told me that you think I'm cute…" he stuttered out. Even he was surprised by the truth that tumbled from his mouth.

"And?" she prompted.

"And I wasn't sure how I was supposed to react! Do I have to ask you to be my girlfriend now? What do I do?" he asked, desperate.

"You do nothing, and forget you ever heard it, that's what you do, Remus," she said queitly as she bottled up the potion and went over to turn it in.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, class is over. I'll see you later, Remus," she said.


	10. Marlene and Mary

**Marlene McKinnon and Mary MacDonald**

_November 15, 1971_

"So, do you think he actually likes her or do you think he's just being a prat?" Mary asked Marlene on their way down to breakfast.

"It's really hard to tell. I'm not sure why someone would pursue someone that much if they didn't actually like them, but it is James. He _is_ a prat," Marlene responded.

"But, does Lily like James? If she likes him… And he likes her… Ohmygosh they would be so cute together!" Mary squealed and her long ponytail swayed back and forth. Marlene pushed her blonde hair out of her face and gave Mary an odd look.

"Of course she doesn't like James! He's a class A git!" the blonde exclaimed angrily.

"Well, she could. My older sister fell for a guy she thought was annoying for years. But she fell in love with him anyway, and now they're getting married! It can happen, you know. Oh, Lena! They would be so perfect together! I can hear the wedding bells now! I can see their little redheaded babies with hazel eyes!" Mary sighed, threw a hand over her heart, and gazed dreamily at the ceiling. In response, Marlene just scoffed and rolled her eyes at her friend.

"One problem: Lily basically hates James."

"How do you know? Maybe she's lying," Mary said while examining the ends of her hair.

"Mary, she likes Remus," Marlene said in a whisper, so others in the vicinity couldn't overhear. Mary stopped dead in her tracks, eyes widening.

"But… Dorcas likes Remus," Mary said, also whispering.

"I know. It's bad. I don't think Remus likes either of them," Marlene said and continued walking towards the Great Hall.

"Oh, good. Now Lily can be with James."

"I'm telling you, Mare, that's not going to happen," Marlene shook her head at her friend.

"But, Leeeeeeenieeeee! They're perfect together. It will happen. I promise you," she said with a mischievous grin.

"Are you willing to put money on that?" Marlene said with a smirk in her voice.

"Absolutely. I will pay you fifty galleons if they don't get together by graduation and you'll pay me fifty if they do," Mary held out her hand.

"Sounds good to me," Marlene took Mary's hand and shook it, sealing the deal.

And so it began.

**Author's Note: I feel bad that I've basically been MIA for the past two and a half months. Marching band really sucks up all of my free time. I have written the next few chapters and plan to stay ahead of the game! I'll probably post stories once a week ish for a while at least. The next one is Lily and Dorcas! Also, thank you to those who reviewed! Reviews make my day. :)**


	11. Dorcas and Lily

**Dorcas Meadowes and Lily Evans**

_November 25, 1971_

Lily chewed on her lip as she sat on her bed and read her book. Well, that was a lie. She wasn't really focused on her reading. Instead, she was studying her roommate as she brushed her hair. Voices filled her head and the conversation she overheard in potions kept repeating itself over and over.

"What are you looking at? Do I have something in my teeth?" Dorcas cried indignantly, throwing her arms out to the side.

"No… Dorcas, can I talk to you for a moment?" Lily said in response while blushing furiously. Dorcas quirked an eyebrow up and set down her hair brush. "Come sit," the redhead girl said while patting the space next to her on the bed. Confused, Dorcas crossed the room and sat down on the bed next to her roommate.

"What's wrong, Lily?"

"Why do you dress like that?" she blurted. Dorcas was taken aback by this.

"What are you talking about, Lily?"

"Well, when we dress casually on the weekends and stuff, you just wear sweatpants and baggy shirts. And when we do wear our uniforms, you just put your hair back into a ponytail. It just seems like you don't really care about your appearance, Dorcas," Lily responded self-righteously. With her mouth open wide in shock, Dorcas stared at her redheaded roommate for a few moments in silence.

"What does it matter, Lily? Maybe I just don't really care how I look," the brunette said as she rose from the bed in disgust.

"You're just really pretty, and you aren't taking advantage of it. If I were half as gorgeous as you are, I would dress girly to show those boys what they're missing out on. I heard you like Remus. It might help to gain his attention if you dress less like a slob," Lily said quietly, staring down at her book again. Silence for a few moments, and then Lily heard Dorcas cross the room and sit down next to her.

Enveloping her in a hug, Dorcas asked shyly, "Will you show me how to dress then?"

"Of course!" responded Lily enthusiastically. She hopped up from the bed and opened the closet to her side. Immediately, Lily pulled out a light pink sweater and a knee-length white skirt. "Go put this on," the redhead instructed and Dorcas left the room to go change.

"I feel silly," the brunette complained when she returned.

"You shouldn't. You look hot. The clothes hug your curves in all the right places and that color looks really amazing on you. Can I do your hair?" Lily asked while ushering her towards the bathroom, not waiting for an answer. There, Lily braided Dorcas's long hair into two braids that fell down her back in even plaits.

"Thank you, Lily. You'll have to help me get ready in the mornings for a while… But thanks. My mother died when I was five, and no one's really ever taught me how to dress," Dorcas wiped a tear from her eyes and smiled.

"Go downstairs and talk to Remus," Lily said with a wink.

"But I thought you liked Remus, too," Dorcas said, confused.

"Eh, he's friends with Potter," Lily wrinkled her nose in disgust. Dorcas laughed at her friend and walked towards the door of the dormitory.

"Call me Cassie," she called, pausing at the door for a moment before walking downstairs with a smile.

**Author's Note: Thank you so, so much for those of you who reviewed and especially to those of you who pointed out that I used dollars instead of galleons in the last chapter. I'm just a stupid sleep deprived American teenager I suppose. I'm really excited for next chapter... :)**


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